Joggers find 3 decapitated bodies in Tijuana

A soldier holds his gun as he prepares to patrol in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, March 3, 2009. The federal government has begun a five thousand man troop increase for this city which has been hit hard by organized crime violence. (AP Photo/Miguerl Tovar)
— AP

A soldier holds his gun as he prepares to patrol in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, March 3, 2009. The federal government has begun a five thousand man troop increase for this city which has been hit hard by organized crime violence. (AP Photo/Miguerl Tovar)
/ AP

TIJUANA, Mexico 
Joggers found the decapitated bodies of three men Tuesday near a bullfighting ring in this northern border city, an official said.

The three bodies also were missing their hands and one its feet, said deputy state Attorney General Salvador Ortiz. He said the heads were found nearby with a message calling the men "snitches."

A fourth body, whose head was wrapped in masking tape, was found in a creek, Ortiz said.

Decapitations have become commonplace in Mexico's raging drug battles, particularly in border cities where rival gangs fight for trafficking routes and dealing territory.

More than 1,000 people have been killed so far this year in Mexico's drug violence.

Tijuana authorities also announced the capture of two fugitives, including a U.S. man wanted in California for allegedly killing his parents. Both were among the region's 11 most-wanted fugitives, whose photographs were released under a new cooperation program between Baja California authorities and the U.S. Marshals Service to catch criminals hiding in the border area.

Meanwhile, in the western resort city of Zihuatanejo, two local police officers were shot to death with assault rifles in separate attacks, the Guerrero state Public Safety office said in a statement Tuesday.

One of the officers was killed on Monday and the other on Tuesday, the statement said.